http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti ... eb.article
So there was Ben Wallace, $60 million waste, laughing on the bench Tuesday night in Orlando. The Bulls were losing by 20-something points in another hapless, character-less performance, and Big Bum was having such a good time that you wanted to stuff him in a Goofy suit and point him to Disney World.
He wasn't the only quitter and slacker in a 102-88 loss, the latest stinker in a pathetic season of quitting and slacking, which only underscores the thievery taking place. The Bulls are stealing money. They are embarrassing the city and a franchise that 10 years ago, willed by the most cut-throat competitor of all time, won its sixth NBA championship. They admittedly quit on Scott Skiles and got him fired. Now they aren't playing for interim coach/sucker Jim Boylan, which comes after Wallace -- in an incredible bit of hypocrisy-- led the in-house charge against Joakim Noah when he blew up at assistant coach Ron Adams last Friday.
At least Noah, who returned to produce 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, cares about winning. Reportedly, Noah and Wallace had a post-game flareup and were separated. Seems Noah was as irked as I was about the apathy of some veterans -- the same mopes who had gone to Boylan and urged him to extend the rookie's one-game suspension to two games for the Adams episode. Shame on Boylan and general manager John Paxson for allowing those veterans any latitude to make disciplinary decisions when some are guilty of far worse sins than Noah.
If the rookie was punished two games, Wallace should be suspended five for laughing. But that won't happen. Know why? His agent, Arn Tellem, is close with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. It was Reinsdorf, according to ESPN's Ric Bucher, who fueled the regrettable Wallace signing two summers ago because of his relationship with Tellem. There even was a report, denied by the Bulls, that Reinsdorf met last month with Wallace and Tellem to gauge the players' feelings about Skiles.
So maybe we shouldn't be blaming only Paxson for the Bulls demise. Maybe it's a classic Reinsdorf screwup.
Boylan, who tried to place trust in the players during the Noah episode, was more disgusted than anyone. Nice attempt to rally the troops, Mr. Interim. ``Our lack of effort in the third quarter was unacceptable and probably the worst third quarter I've seen since I've been with the Chicago Bulls, as a head coach or an assistant,'' he said. ``It was a lack of effort all the way across the board, a lack of concentration and focus.
``In the NBA, there's always ebb and flow, but we're letting teams have their way with us. Our defense is soft; our offense is anemic at times. We seem to be casual with the ball. We have to do something about that if we want to get ourselves right. We have to change the way we're playing. I don't have any magic dust to sprinkle over anyone. I have seen these guys compete at a high level. For some reason we are not doing that.''
They're already fired a well-regarded coach. They're already turned a rookie into a peer-pressure scapegoat. Any other solutions? ``It's just embarrassing,'' said Chris Duhon, who said last month that the Bulls stopped playing for Skiles.
The team is a disgrace, a daily subject on national TV shows. Somewhere in Indiana, Skiles must be laughing himself, though surely not as hard as Big Bum.
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